WordPress plugins allow you to customize your site in different ways, and they’re fairly easy to manage for the most part. However, setting them up can be overwhelming if you’re still new to WordPress.

For many plugins, all you need to do is go to Plugins → Add Plugin in WordPress, find or type in the name of the plugin you want to install, and click Install, then Activate.

However, things can get pretty complicated when you need to install a premium plugin or install a plugin manually.

In this post, I cover how to install WordPress plugins in general as well as how to install them manually.

How to Install WordPress Plugins in General

1. Log into the WordPress admin area.
2. Hover over the Plugins item in the admin menu to the left.
3. Click Add Plugin from the dropdown menu.
4. Find the plugin you want to install, or search for it.
5. Click its Install Now button.
6. Wait a moment for the plugin to install, then click Activate.

The most typical way to install WordPress plugins is to install them within WordPress itself.

You can do this with any free plugin that’s available in the official plugin directory (also known as the “plugin repository”).

Let’s install Rank Math as an example.

From the WordPress admin area, hover over the Plugins option in the admin menu to the left, and select Add Plugin.

Scroll through the list of plugins, switch to a different tab (such as the Popular tab) or enter the name of the plugin in the search box.

In this case, I entered “rank math” in the search box.

Then, click the Install Now button associated with the plugin. This installs the plugin immediately.

At this point, the plugin’s code and files have been uploaded to your server, but its features have not yet been applied.

The Install Now button will convert into an Activate button once the installation is complete.

Click the Activate button to apply the plugin’s features to your site.

You can view every plugin you’ve installed on the Plugins page by clicking the Plugins option in the menu item.

As for how to access the specific plugin you just installed, each plugin has a different way to access it in the admin area.

For Rank Math, it adds a Rank Math SEO option to the admin menu.

Some plugins add options to the Tools menu or Settings menu.

How to Install WordPress Plugins Manually in WordPress (for Premium Plugins)

1. Download the plugin’s ZIP folder.
2. Log into the admin area of your WordPress site.
3. Go to Plugins → Add Plugin.
4. Click Upload Plugin.
5. Click Choose File, and select the ZIP folder. You can also drag it over.
6. Click Install Now.

Many premium WordPress plugins need to be installed manually. This is because activating them comes with a few extra steps.

You’ll need to start by downloading that plugin as a ZIP folder from the developer’s website. If you bought a plugin from CodeCanyon, select the “Installable WordPress file only” option when downloading.

To install the plugin, head back to the Add Plugins page in the admin area of your WordPress site.

Click the Upload Plugin button located at the top of the page.

Click Choose File, and select the plugin’s ZIP folder on your computer. Alternatively, drag it over.

Click the Install Now button to install it, then Activate it.

You can do this for free WordPress plugins as well. Every plugin in the directory has a Download button, which you can use to download the plugin as a ZIP folder, then install it manually as I demonstrated with the premium plugin.

For premium plugins, you might also need to enter a license key in WordPress to confirm your purchase.

How to Install WordPress Plugins Manually Using SFTP

1. Download the plugin you want to install.
2. Extract it so that you have the unzipped copy of the plugin. It should be a folder named after the plugin itself.
   1. For example, the extracted version of Rank Math (downloaded from WordPress.org) is named “seo-by-rank-math.”
3. (Optional) Place the folder in a location that’s easily accessible, such as the desktop or the Documents folder.
4. Install an SFTP client, such as WinSCP.
   1. During the installation process, choose the Typical installation option and the Commander Interface option.
5. Launch WinSCP.
6. Enter the following information from the window that pops up:
   1. File Protocol: SFTP
   2. Host Name: Your server’s public IP address. Look in the SFTP section of your hosting panel to find this. In Cloudways, these details are in the Master Credentials section
   3. Port Number: 22
   4. User Name: The SSH username you or your host set up. Your hosting panel should have this information as well
   5. Password: The SSH username you or your host set up
7. Click the Login button once you’ve entered all of your information.
8. If a security warning pops up, press Yes or Accept to bypass it.
9. Make sure you see two panels:
   1. Left panel: Contains your computer’s file system
   2. Right panel: Contains your server’s file system
10. Use the left panel to locate the plugin folder you extracted in Step 2.
11. Use the right panel to open the plugins folder in your server’s file system. The path should be public_html → wp-content → plugins.
12. Drag the plugin folder from the left panel to the plugins folder in the right panel.
13. Wait for WinSCP to transfer the plugin’s files from your computer to your server’s file system.
14. You should now see the plugin in the Plugins section of the WordPress admin area. Activate it to apply its features to your site.
15. Close WinSCP, and terminate the session.

A Word On WordPress Plugins and Security

I want to take a moment to explain the importance of using WordPress plugins safely.

According to data from WPScan, 93% of the vulnerabilities it detects originate from WordPress plugins.

This means when threats breach your website, they’re most likely to enter through insecure WordPress plugins.

Related: Is WordPress Secure? A Data-Driven Analysis

Here are a few tips on how to use WordPress plugins safely:

• Use WordPress plugins sparingly. If there’s an action you can do without a plugin, avoid installing a plugin to complete that action
• Only install plugins from reputable sources
• Don’t install plugins that have low ratings that cite security issues
• Keep plugins up to date by installing updates as soon as possible
• Delete plugins that haven’t received updates in over a year
• Use a security plugin to keep track of unauthorized changes being made to plugin files

There’s a common misconception that the key to WordPress security is keeping the number of plugins you have installed to a minimum.

While it’s true that installing fewer plugins lowers your risk of installing an insecure plugin, it doesn’t mean you’re completely safe from insecure plugins. It only takes one poorly-coded plugin to wreak havoc on your site.

This is why it’s better to practice safe habits, such as only installing highly-rated plugins from reputable sources, keeping plugins up to date, and auditing your plugin library annually.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I install premium plugins in WordPress?

After you purchase a premium plugin, you typically need to download it as a ZIP folder from the developer’s website.

Then, follow these steps:

1. Log into the admin area of your WordPress site.
2. Go to Plugins → Add Plugin.
3. Click Upload Plugin.
4. Click Choose File, then select the plugin’s ZIP Folder.
5. Click Install Now.
6. Activate the plugin once it finishes installing to apply the plugin’s features to your website.
7. Enter your license key in the plugin’s settings, if applicable.

What are the most popular WordPress plugins?

According to WordPress.org, some of the most popular WordPress plugins include:

• Elementor – 10+ million downloads
• Yoast – 10+ million downloads
• Contact Form 7 – 10+ million downloads
• Classic Editor – 9+ million downloads
• LiteSpeed Cache – 7+ million downloads
• WooCommerce – 7+ million downloads
• Akismet – 5+ million downloads
• Site Kit by Google – 5+ million downloads
• WPForms – 5+ million downloads
• All-in-One WP Migration and Backup – 5+ million downloads

How many WordPress plugins are there?

There are at least more than 74,000 WordPress plugins available on the web.

According to WordPress.org, the official plugin directory contains more than 69,000 plugins.

CodeCanyon, a popular marketplace for WordPress themes and plugins, has over 5,200 WordPress plugins.

There are also miscellaneous plugins that aren’t in either of these directories.

Why can’t I install plugins in WordPress?

If you can’t install WordPress plugins, you might have a WordPress site created on WordPress.com rather than a self-hosted WordPress site (WordPress.org).

WordPress.com sites do have plugins, but the library is much smaller, and you typically can’t install any plugin you want like you can with a self-hosted WordPress site.

If you do have a self-hosted site but still can’t install a particular plugin, your host might disallow certain plugins.

For instance, many managed WordPress hosts handle certain tasks, such as caching and security, on your behalf. Therefore, they disallow the installation of caching and security plugins to avoid plugin interference.

Finally, your WordPress developer might block plugin installations to prevent you from causing issues on your website.